5th L'Alcúdia-UA Classical Theatre Festival

Alicante, 30 May 2017

Translated by María Navarro Martínez

The University of Alicante is committed with fostering classical theatre, and so the summer performances are back! You can enjoy the 5th L'Alcúdia-UA Classical Theatre Festival from 7 to 28 July. This year's programme includes seven outdoors performances at the La Alcudia Archaeological Site in Elche, four of which are by professional theatre companies (7, 14, 21, and 28 July), and three by amateur companies (13, 20, and 27 July). All performances will start at 10 p.m.

The first play to be shown will be De Sukei a Naima, a new project by Valencian company La Dependent and Juan Gil-Albert Culture Institute which premiered recently at the Mostra de Teatre de Alcoi 2017. Entrance will be free up to venue capacity (402 seats). Then, on 21 July, we will enjoy Menaechmi, a production by Verbo Producciones and the Merida Classical Theatre Festivalthat won the 2013 Public's Choice Award at Ceres Awards and the Garnacha Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Public's Choice Award. This year's array of professional shows will also include Clytemnestra. Una mujer, by Induoteatro Producciones (Malaga), and Hamlet Canalla, by the Valencian Culture Institute (Valencia). A series of non-professional shows will also be staged: Aristophanes' Thesmophoriazusae, by Caligae Teatro from Castillo Puche High School in Yecla (who recently won the 2nd Greek and Latin Theatre Contest for High Schools), Enredando a Celestina by Miguel Hernández University's Theatre Company, and Aristophanes' Pluto, by the University of Alicante's Lifelong Learning Programme Theatre Club.

PERFORMANCE CALENDAR

7 July - 10 p.m.

Written by Gemma Miralles. Directed by Gemma Miralles and Cristina Lügstenmanm. In Valencian · Entrance is free up to venue capacity · Duration of the play: 90 minutes.

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De Sukei a Naima takes the historic episode of the expulsion of the moriscos in 1609 as a reference to deal with the concept of loss in times of prohibitions and persecutions, and it analyses the identity and culture of the morisco people from a dramatic and an adventurous viewpoint. It portrays the suffering of a subdued society that fights to preserve its religion and customs. The evolution of repression, before and after the expulsion, will be addressed by following the life of three generations. The protagonists (three women) will be abandoned in different ways and will have to fight for their loyalty to their family and their faith. Three key decisions will change their life forever.

La Dependentis a theatre production company that manages the Teatro Principal de Alcoi and coordinates the Teatro Principal School. It started out in 1987. For more than two decades, the company has remained loyal to a theatre project which is half classical, half modern, and it has always supported plays in Valencian language.

It was awarded the Eduard Escalante Theatre Prize in Valencian at the 2016 Premis Literaris Ciutat de València.

This play is co-produced by La Dependent and the Valencian Institute of Culture, with the cooperation of Benicàssim Town Hall and La Alcúdia Foundation.

Euripides finds out that women in Athens are plotting to choose their own destiny, since they are mad for how they are depicted in tragedies: they are portrayed as crazy women, murderers, nymphomaniacs and suicidal beings at best. They use the Thesmophoria festival, an annual celebration of fertility and its Goddess Demeter, as a cover to devise a plan to make Euripides pay for his injurious words

14 July - 10 p.m.

«Nothing can remove cruelty from the world, but at least, I have put an end to Agamemnon's contribution to that cruelty». Clytemnestra. Una mujer

Mycenaean queen Clytemnestra was not killed by her son as history says. She was reported and judged. No one has dared to tell the story of a woman who, tired of faithfully serving the desires of a man, decided to change the course of her life and become the master of her own destiny. For her, regret does not exist any more; it is too late for that. Now, she is not the same submissive woman who used to take orders from a man. Today, Clytemnestra rises from the ashes of time to talk about her story, about her life, even if that entails being judged forever.

Induoteatro Producciones was founded at the end of 2009 when three professionals of Andalutheatre met: José Manuel Sánchez "Andreu" (stage director), Pilar Jiménez (actress, stage designer and co-founder of theatre companies Amaranta Teatro and D'Accion Merx companies together with Andreu) and Chico García, actor and holder of a second-cycle degree in dramatic art from the Superior School of Dramatic Arts of Malaga.

Ever since it was founded, Induoteatro showed a strong professional commitment towards two essential aspects of theatre: the audience and the art of theatre itself. Their performances go from comedies to the greatest classical plays.

20 July - 10 p.m.

Enredando a Celestina - Miguel Hernández University Theatre Company

Fights are the source of all things. Or is it intrigue? Lands beat, seas twist, flames crackle, the wind becomes an impossible blast and among the rivalry, theatre emerges as a special guest that sets words to fight on a stage. Enredando a Celestina is a free version of the universal play written by Fernando de Rojas. This shocking comedy led by Parmeno and Sepronio is filled with nonsense, absurdity, and characters fighting against the world and against themselves with the objective of seizing the day and reflecting on the world.

Two brothers become separated when they are children. Years later, one of them, Menaechmus of Syracuse, sets his mind on finding his brother Menaechmus of Epidamnus. After searching for years and years, and at the verge of losing all his fortune, he arrives in Epidamnus.

Menaechmiis one of the most successful comedies ever written by Plautus. The true and only motor for the action to develop is the extraordinary resemblance of the two brothers. Using these ingredients and a whole range of gags, the classical master created a hilarious comedy of intrigue. «Menaechmi could very well represent two political parties, two twin brothers that nobody seems to be able to tell from each other, who are constantly reminding what their name is and striving to make everyone understand that they each have their own personality, their own interests, and their own feelings».

Winner of 2013 Public's Choice Award at Ceres AwardsWinner of Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Public's Choice Award at Garnacha Awards

Since 2006, Verbo Producciones has been devoted to creating «exciting projects for a heterogeneous audience wishing to share independent work with a strong artistic commitment».

27 July - 10 p.m.

«Plutus, the god of money, roams the streets, blind and singing. He is sad because he does not know who he is giving himself to. He wishes to be fair and give a bit of himself to everyone who is honest. Those who do not have him summon him; those who have him refuse to let him go. But one day Chremylos, a farmer who has lost his fortune, gives him his eyesight back. And so the party begins. A dream for some, a nightmare for others.

Plutus is filled with good humour, the kind that makes you think. It is an acid, satirical, and foul-mouthed kind of humour that invites everyone to join the party of utopia, where poverty, abuse, exclusion, traps, and lies no longer exist. Can you imagine?»

28 July - 10 p.m.

Hamlet Canalla is the story of one of the greatest characters in the history of theatre, a messiah who gave his all to the salvation of his people, just like so many other modern heroes serving their people these days. This play portrays Hamlet from a new point of view and reflects on the complexity of tragedy and the uselessness of revenge, which are constantly present in the news of our time.

Thanks to his work in this play, Josep Manel Casany was the front-runner for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the 20th edition of Max Awards.

Micalet Theatre Company was founded by Joan Peris, Ximo Solano and Pilar Almería in 1995, and it started out as a centre for producing plays to be shown at Micalet Theatre. Ever since then, the company has created 27 shows, all of which bear Micalet's personal seal and are strongly committed with supporting theatre in Valencian.